Successful digital marketing involves constant review of your SEO, PPC campaigns and website UX, which can result in a sense akin to FOMO for marketers concerned about getting the best possible ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment).

Phil Turner of Bespoke explains how to judge if your marketing is working, and how to strike a balance between staying at the top of your digital marketing game, without confusing your customers through over-adaptation.

In 2023, digital ad spend in the UK is set to exceed £30billion. But research by Bespoke shows that, of that figure, an estimated 31% is wasted. That’s £9.3billion being spent every year on digital tactics that generate no, or limited, return.

We conducted our research by analysing the findings of our Digital Strategy Workshops carried out over five years with companies from across the North West and South East of England, two of the UK’s hotspots for digital marketing as a whole.

The workshops, targeted at inhouse digital marketers, start with an extensive audit of current spend on all areas of digital marketing. After analysing the results over five years, we were astounded to realise just how much digital marketing spend on average is currently wasted. The key culprits according to our findings are:

Spend on PPC on platforms that simply don’t work for that industry

PPC is not like playing the lottery. It’s not a case of being in it to win it. To avoid wasting money, PPC campaigns have to be aligned with buying behaviour for that industry. If you have a niche product that consumers search for, Google is the natural choice. If it’s a consumer product that’s disrupting the market in some way, Facebook is a good option. If it’s corporate B2B, LinkedIn is probably best. But rarely will you get good returns from all three. Yes, there can be a case of trial and error. But if it’s more often error, the best move companies can make to improve these digital tactics is simply to switch them off. The saved money can be put into meaningful investments such as UX, which in fact will help convert more customers who’ve reached the site through appropriate clicks.

Paid ads just left to run

Sometimes, when a PPC plan is put in place and can be seen to work, companies just leave it running. This “if it ain’t broke” attitude can lead to huge losses from campaigns that can actually be improved by ongoing management, maintenance and development. In the worst-case scenarios, we’ve seen many more companies than you might imagine, who have simply set up campaigns and then forgotten about them. In the interim, they have updated their products and services, making these old ads meaningless, and every click they get, simply a waste of money.

Again, the advice here is review your campaigns regularly and seek constant improvement.  If they’re not working, turn them off, or change them.

Jumping too soon

The third most common way digital ad spend is simply wasted is where companies start spending before they have got the fundamentals right. If you have not carefully worked out your product or service’s positioning in the marketplace before you start spending on ads, you’re bound to be wasting a large portion of your budget.

The lesson is simple: Look before you leap. Spending the time, before you start spending your money, to get your digital strategy aligned with your products’ USPs in the context of the marketplace you’re entering will save you huge amounts of budget in the long-run.

Companies can avoid wastage by investing money and time in getting their digital strategy right before they start handing their money to Google or social media platforms.

Being aware of the potential areas of digital wastage can be the absolute decider between glorious success or outright failure as an online marketer.

Strategy

As a simple question, does your web strategy make your business stand out in your industry? A well researched strategy is fundamental to successful online lead-generation. To perform well, websites and campaigns should be designed around a well researched strategy. For example, one that includes deep profiling of your ideal customer, consistent marketing messages that have been proven to excite your customer, and an understanding of the expected return on investment across each of the digital channels available to you.

Website

Do you have a performance website with a great conversion rate? Many business persevere with an old or underperforming website for too long. A performance website is designed based on data and built with advanced lead-magnets. For example, a performance website might convert 1 in 20 of its visitors to leads whilst a regular website might only convert 1 in 200.

A brand refresh and website redesign by senior professionals who are specialist in your sector will typically improve performance overnight (on average we see an instant 15% performance increase when we relaunch a website – equivalent to £100,000s of new business in some cases).

Marketing

Do your campaigns get more high quality leads than competitors? When a business has a good strategy and website in place it makes sense to invest in online marketing campaigns to drive laser targeted prospects to your lead magnets.

Yet, we often see budget being wasted on campaigns that are poorly targeted or whose key messages do not excite the target customer. When it comes to marketing campaigns there is competition for the best value traffic across digital channels so it pays for your campaigns to be in the best shape they possibly can be.

When these three essentials are fully developed and working in harmony, a business gets the best possible flow of quality leads from its website and other online marketing. But if any of the three are not quite as they should be, the whole marketing operation underperforms. A weakness in one weakens the others too.

Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has endorsed plans to transform the disused Trelavour clay pit near St Austell into a major lithium mine, a move that could significantly bolster the UK’s battery-making capabilities.

The site, operated by Cornish Lithium, is projected to supply 25,000 tonnes of lithium per year by 2030, helping to power British-made electric vehicles with domestically sourced batteries.

Lithium is a vital component in battery production, and developing the Trelavour site is expected to play a key role in meeting the rising demand for electric vehicles in the UK. With Rayner’s decision to upgrade the project to a “project of national significance,” the planning approval process will be accelerated, with ministers overseeing the approval rather than local authorities.

Cornwall’s rich deposits of lithium, embedded in the same granite rock that once supported the county’s historic china clay industry, have the potential to make the region the heart of the UK’s lithium mining sector. Jeremy Wrathall, CEO of Cornish Lithium, highlighted the importance of the project, stating, “This marks another stage in the UK’s journey from relying on imported lithium to maximising the potential of the industrial scale of lithium that already lies beneath our feet at existing brownfield sites in Cornwall.”

Securing a domestic supply of lithium could reduce the UK’s dependence on imports from Australia, South America, and China, cutting carbon emissions and logistical costs associated with overseas sourcing. The Trelavour pit plans to produce 10,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide annually, with an additional 15,000 tonnes sourced from geothermal waters in other parts of Cornwall.

The UK’s push towards electric vehicles is set to intensify, with quotas for EVs expected to rise from 22% of all new cars sold in 2024 to 80% by 2030, and reaching 100% by 2035. With over 1.2 million electric cars currently on UK roads—around 3.5% of the total—this figure is projected to grow to 20% by 2030, driving up the demand for lithium significantly.

Cornish Lithium’s initiative could potentially meet over half of the UK car industry’s lithium needs, estimated at 80,000 tonnes by 2030. This domestic supply would not only support the UK’s electric vehicle targets but also underpin the broader use of lithium in other technologies, including rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, and critical medical devices like heart pacemakers.

As the UK car manufacturing industry remains a crucial export sector, particularly to the EU, the development of a local lithium supply chain is seen as a strategic move to secure the industry’s future amid increasing global competition and environmental targets.

Global SMEs are showing increasing optimism about their future prospects, according to the new Global SME Confidence Index from Alibaba.com, a leading B2B e-commerce platform.

The study with SME decision-makers across France, Germany, the UK, and the US, highlights a strong sense of resilience as SMEs navigate a challenging business landscape.

The report found that 69% of SME leaders feel more positive about their growth opportunities compared to six months ago. German SMEs lead the optimism, with 74% of respondents reporting an improved outlook, followed by 65% of French SMEs. This upbeat sentiment is largely fuelled by plans for innovation, as nearly half (45%) of global SMEs intend to launch one to two new product lines within the next year.

However, this optimism is tempered by significant challenges. Inflationary pressures are the top concern for 38% of SMEs, followed by difficulties in marketing and customer acquisition (31%). Supply chain disruptions and stock availability also remain critical issues, with 25% of SMEs citing these as major hurdles for the coming year.

To tackle these challenges, global SMEs are increasingly turning to online sourcing solutions, with 52% working with online B2B marketplaces like Alibaba.com to source new and innovative products. Additionally, digital tools are playing a crucial role in SMEs’ strategies: 56% plan to utilise social media, 50% will leverage their company’s own websites, and 43% are looking to digital advertising. Emerging technologies like AI are also on the radar, with 26% of SMEs exploring AI tools, including image search, as a significant opportunity for growth.

Kuo Zhang, President of Alibaba.com, commented on the findings: “Our research highlights strong growth in optimism amongst SMEs across the world, as they embrace digital sourcing channels and look to enhance their product offerings. SMEs in key global markets are united by the opportunities presented by the integration of AI, and with more than half of global SMEs planning to use social media to stay competitive, it’s clear that ambitious businesses are increasingly turning to digital tools and platforms.”

The release of the Global SME Confidence Index coincides with Alibaba.com’s Super September, a flagship month-long online trade show designed to help businesses source new products in time for the holiday season. This year, the event has already seen a 69% increase in orders within the first week compared to the same period last year. Super September connects over 48 million buyers with 200,000 suppliers worldwide, facilitating access to new products and innovative solutions through livestreaming technology and virtual reality showrooms.

Super September runs until 30th September 2024, providing a dynamic platform for business buyers to discover new products and suppliers, enhancing their ability to grow and compete in an increasingly digital marketplace.